Misinterpretations
by Jade S. Lee
Summary: [FMAHarry Potter Crossover][AU] Hermione Granger has found herself intrigued by the new professor at Hogwarts, Edward Elric. As she tries to learn more about the mysterious Professor Elric, she finds out more than she bargained for.
1. Professor

**Title: **Misinterpretations  
**Author: **Jade S. Lee 

**Chapter 01: Professor**

He was an enigma, that Professor Elric.

He had golden hair, as well as golden eyes even though an iris colour such as that was not possible. He had a German name, but no German accent, despite claims that he grew up in Munich. He said that he studied at Durmstrang, yet he could not hide the look of surprise on his face when he saw Draco Malfoy use his wand to light an unsuspecting first year's robes on fire.

Hermione Granger shook herself out of her musings when Ron almost violently poked her shoulder for her attention. Rubbing her right shoulder she turned to face the fiery red head with a look of mixed confusion and annoyance.

"About time 'Mione!" Ron hissed angrily. "It's hard to ask someone to please pass the bread when they're busy drooling over the new professor."

Trying to fight down the heavy blush that Hermione knew was staining her face she hurriedly denied staring at Professor Elric and nearly shoved the basket of bread into Ron's hands. Quickly turning away from his inquisitive gaze Hermione glared at her bowl of soup, hoping that her friend would stop making crude comments about her "supposed" interest in the blond professor. It wasn't that sort of interest anyways. Although Professor Elric was handsome in a boyish way - as evidenced by the fact that he already had a fan club that consisted of nearly all the female students in the school, Hermione had a different sort of interest in him.

She just wanted to know his secrets.

He had been teaching at the school for a month already and had yet to reveal anything about himself. Yes he had said at the Opening Feast that he had grown up as a muggle, studied at Durmstrang, and had tried a number of occupations before deciding on educating young minds at Hogwarts but he refused to give any more information than that. Unlike the other instructors, Professor Elric never regaled them with tales of his youth, or spoke about family members, or even lost his temper with his class. To Hogwarts he was the quiet, reclusive professor who apparently stuck to strict ministry-approved lesson plans when it came to teaching, but taught with an almost bored manner like he did not care if anyone really learned anything.

At first Hermione had been suspicious of him. What if he was working as a spy for Voldemort? But that thought was quickly dismissed when some Hufflepuff had yelled the Dark Lord's name (hmph! The nerve of that boy, trying to scare poor Neville) in the hallway only to be met with an a blank gaze and an astonished "Who's that?" from the young professor. Although he quickly corrected himself by saying that he misheard the name it was plainly obvious that Professor Elric had never heard of the Dark Lord. That, or he was a very good actor.

All accusations aside Hermione was truly intrigued by the blond. She had never met anyone that complex in her life and she itched to find out more. No book in the library had helped her much - she had looked up his name the first day of school, and none of the other teachers knew any more about him than she did. Hermione also did not have class with him, since he was teaching seventh years and he rarely ate his meals in the Great Hall.

That was why she almost knocked over her glass of milk in shock when Professor Elric joined her at the Gryffindor table for breakfast one chilly morning. She had stayed up late finishing her essay for Professor Slughorn on Felix Felicitus so she slept in a little since it was the weekend. After finding the Great Hall empty, she decided to have a peaceful breakfast alone while her friends busied themselves with Quidditch practice. While Professor Elric was not being obtrusive or even making forced small talk, his presence nonetheless dashed her hopes of a relaxing meal and put her on edge.

Now this was different.

In all her time observing the reclusive professor she had noticed a few strange habits of his: one being his reluctance in eating with everyone in the Great Hall.

That must be it, she mused, he did not like to eat in a crowd. Or maybe he did not like crowds in general. Why was he eating in the Great Hall now? Maybe he always ate in the Great Hall, just later after the rush so there would be less people. But why sit at the Gryffindor table with me then? Why not sit at the opposite end of the Great Hall, or more appropriately, the teacher's table?

Hermione knew that she was panicking, but the combination of lack of sleep and the fact that she had never been this close to Professor Elric before made her jumpy. Nervously, she began wringing the napkin in her hands under the table. Staring hard at the worn oak table and hoping that the floor would swallow her whole Hermione sneaked a glance at her blond tablemate.

Professor Elric calmly sipped his orange juice.

Did he not know what he was putting her through? Hermione seethed in her mind. It was obvious that she was nervous and uncomfortable, yet Professor Elric chose not to acknowledge the fact. Still, Hermione could have sworn that the professor had given her a little wink and a small, toothy grin.

Damn him! He decides not to be a recluse now of all times? Why did she wake up late? Why did he have to...

"Hey"

What felt like a rolled up newspaper hit her lightly on the head.

"Could you please pass the bread?"

* * *

**A.N:** I'd just like to say now that I do not own Full Metal Alchemist nor do I own any of the Harry Potter books. They belong to their respectful authors (J.K. Rowling and...oh gosh I can't remember FMA's author...well to him too). 

Warning: this is my first fanfic so if I completely suck then I really can't help it since this is entirely new for me.

I hope that no one bashes me for completely turning all the characters OOC. I might have done it in some parts so I apologize in advance.

Oh yes, the FMA part is set after the anime series ended. No movie though (well, Ed DOES pass through the gate to another world and does go to Germany, but he doesn't stay there for long). For Harry Potter its 6th book stuff. But since I can't really remember what happened in the 6th book much anymore I'm going to do my own version with references to the book (like the fact that Slughorn is the potions teacher etc etc).

Note: I KNOW that doing an FMA/HP crossover is so...OVERDONE but I can't help it. This is the ONLY crossover that I've taken a liking to because I can actually SEE the stories being integrated into each other. I seriously do not understand most crossovers. Naruto/HP doesn't work well I think and LOTR/anything is just mind boggling to me. I can't even get over Kingdom Hearts so there! I'm aiming for this story to be about 10 chapters, give or take. About the same length as this one too. And I could probably update...erm...once a week or once every two weeks depending on the demand/my motivation.

**until next time!**

**EDIT:**

Thanks to begumfarah99 for pointing out TWO mistakes to me...omgg I feel SO STUPID now..

Originally I had Edward teach 6th and 7th years so I wrote:

"To Hogwarts he was the quiet, reclusive professor who stuck to strict ministry-approved lesson plans when it came to teaching, but taught with an almost bored manner like he did not care if anyone really learned anything."

and

"But that thought was quickly dismissed when some Hufflepuff had yelled the Dark Lord's name (hmph! The nerve of that boy, trying to scare poor Neville) in Professor Elric's class only to be met with an a blank gaze and an astonished "Who's that?" from the young professor"

But I made a last minute change (apparently in my mind because I wrote these things) so that Edward would only teach 7th years. I decided that he would want to keep a lower profile in the school so he would only want to teach a small class (usually by the time you get to senior years in any school setting, the classes become smaller...cuz they're more specialized and people drop out/change schools etc) and he's the intellectual type so he wouldn't want to teach people who weren't willing to learn.

So I've made small changes to these two sentences so that they'll make more sense.

So now they're

"To Hogwarts he was the quiet, reclusive professor who **apparently** stuck to..."

and

"But that thought was quickly dismissed when some Hufflepuff had yelled the Dark Lord's name (hmph! The nerve of that boy, trying to scare poor Neville) **in the hallway **only to be met with an a blank gaze and an astonished "Who's that?" from the young professor"

Hope this makes more sense then...thanks begumfarah99!


	2. Researcher

**Title: **Misinterpretations  
**Author: **Jade S. Lee

**Chapter 02: Researcher**

She never knew that Professor Elric liked to read.

That was quite the understatement. Professor Elric liked to read - a lot. After that embarrassing breakfast in which Hermione had eaten at a record pace and clumsily gave the professor a sheepish farewell, Hermione had taken to avoiding the blond instructor at all costs.

Until one Monday afternoon during her free period when she spotted the professor in the library. How she had never noticed him before was beyond her. Sure, he had chosen a dusty corner at the back of the library away from the main study tables but Hermione still felt slightly annoyed. She was supposed to know the library like the back of her hand, she went there every day. What annoyed her even more was that it was Harry who found Professor Elric's secret corner and pointed it out to her.

Huffing angrily Hermione flipped open her Transfiguration textbook and started her homework. After ten minutes of trying to remember what Professor McGonagall's instructions for the homework were she gave up and looked at her two friends, both (miraculously) concentrating on their Divination homework. With nothing to do (Hermione having done all of her homework except for Transfigurations, she would ask Harry for the instructions later) she decided to investigate Professor Elric's secret reading corner. Carefully making her way to the back of the library, Hermione picked up a random book from the shelves and sat down on an old, musty smelling chair that was positioned so that she could clearly see the professor without being seen.

God she felt like a stalker.

He was sitting on the floor of the library casually flipping through a book. Well, he was sort of sprawled out on the floor, occasionally fingering his small reading glasses. A frightening number of books were lying haphazardly on the floor around him as well as pieces of crumpled parchment and what looked like bread crumbs, giving the indication that he had been in the library for quite some time. Although it looked like an uncomfortable position to be sitting in, the professor looked relaxed.

After her quick assessment Hermione started to feel a little foolish spying on the professor. What did she need to hide? She wasn't in love with him like the other idol-crazy girls (or in this case, good looking mysterious professor-crazy girls) in the school and she certainly was not a coward. With that resolve in mind Hermione stood to confront the Professor Elric until she heard voices whispering behind her. Quickly jumping into a narrow hall full of ancient books Hermione held her breath as she waited for the people to pass.

Great, now she was hiding like a fugitive. So much for not being a coward.

"Shh! Be quiet!"

"You're standing on my foot!"

A few shuffling noises could be heard as well as a stifled sneeze. Hermione guessed that there were two, no three, people in the hallway next to her. They were awfully loud, whispering wildly to each other and making loud noises. It was a wonder that Professor Elric hadn't noticed them yet. The voices also sounded female, probably some of Professor Elric's fans, thought Hermione dryly.

"Charlotte! He'll hear us!"

She wasn't called a genius for nothing.

The girl, Charlotte Winterton was the daughter of a muggle politician and president of the P.E.F club, short for the Professor Elric Forever Club.

How original, Hermione thought wryly.

Although many girls liked and admired the professor, only a few took their obsession to the next level. The P.E.F girls consisted of 10 girls from all years and all houses whose obsession with Professor Elric bordered on insanity. Charlotte Winterton, a seventh year Hufflepuff and the founder of P.E.F, was a feisty brunette whose melodramatic behaviour had earned her the nickname of Prima Donna.

Hermione had never really gotten to know Charlotte; they had had a few classes together through the years but had never really formed a friendship, or saw eye to eye for that matter. Hermione thought that Charlotte was ridiculous, always turning every situation into a soap opera and expecting that everything would be handed to her on a silver platter. On the other hand Charlotte had the impression that Hermione was an insufferable know-it-all, as Professor Snape had kindly pointed out some years before. For the most part Hermione ignored her, preferring to avoid the girl and her callous remarks of "teacher's pet" and "know-it-all".

"Who will hear you Miss Quirke?"

Hearing Professor Elric's clear tenor voice shook Hermione from her thoughts. Peering through a crack between two books, Hermione could make out Professor Elric's blond ponytail, as well as a good view of the three P.E.F members.

The one on the left, Orla Quirke was clearly nervous. She kept on stuttering non-intelligible responses and shifting around restlessly, refusing to meet Professor Elric's eyes.

"Sorry Professor," Charlotte said smoothly, stepping slightly forward and giving Professor Elric a level stare. "Didn't want to be kicked out by Goldstein for being noisy like last time. I just wanted to ask you a few questions about yesterday's lesson."

If there was one thing that Charlotte was good at, it was acting.

Professor Elric nodded, gesturing for Charlotte to continue.

"How come you said that the Philosopher's Stone real? I heard that it's just a myth."

The Philosopher's Stone! Hermione barely managed to clamp her hand over her mouth before she gave her position away.

"I never said that it was real. I said that with Alchemy, anything is possible, even the creation of the Philosopher's Stone. Although the chances of creating the it are very slim."

From the back Professor Elric looked a little...tense. His narrow shoulders were squared as if he were preparing for a fight and from her hiding spot he looked a little rigid. But she supposed that none of this tension could be shown on his face since Charlotte and her friends did not seem to notice anything.

Strange, he should believe that the Philosopher's Stone is a myth. And even if he knew that Nicholas Flamel had created a real stone it shouldn't make him so nervous.

"Oh, I guess that I did not hear the rest."

Another nod.

"Hey, whatcha reading there?" The third girl (whom Hermione had never met before) asked, squeezing past Charlotte and nodding her head at the book that Professor Elric was holding.

"I'm researching the effects of Apparition on a body." Was Professor Elric's clipped response.

"What sort of research?"

What a nosy girl, thought Hermione.

Professor Elric seemed to agree as well because he waved his hands around theatrically and told the girl that it wasn't anything important and the details would bore them.

"But apparating is so cool! Ever since my sister passed the test she's been apparating all over! When I pass it I'm going to apparate to Hogwarts instead of taking the train. It's too long!" Charlotte suddenly gushed, clasping her hands in front of her face in an excited manner and stepped in front of the other girl, once again getting Professor Elric's attention.

"You know that you can't apparate within Hogwarts. Did you not read Hogwarts, A History?" Said Professor Elric, his voice taking on a slightly reprimanding tone.

Ah, music to my ears.

Charlotte seemed to visibly deflate at this response for a moment, but quickly recovered by steering the topic towards the upcoming Halloween feast.

Knowing that the next topic of conversation would be dull, Hermione leaned back into the shelving unit to think about what had been said. It seemed that Professor Elric knew a lot about the Philosopher's Stone, more then he was letting on. He might have come across it in his readings, since he seemed to be quite the avid reader judging by the pile of books still lying on the floor in the corner. But why was he doing research on Apparition? Was it connected in any way to the Philosopher's Stone? And why would he be studying such things? He taught Alchemy which, in Hermione's opinion, was a subject that had no practical use in the wizarding world.

Hearing a chorus of goodbyes, Hermione turned her attention back to the scene just as the three P.E.F girls rounded the corner of the hallway. Without the girls to pry information out of Professor Elric, Hermione found there was no use in her staying. She would just have to wait until the coast was clear before she made her exit.

Upon hearing the professor's footsteps fade Hermione raced the opposite direction towards her friends. By the time she got back to the table she felt winded, her breath coming out in short gasps and her cheeks flushed. Before Hermione could even compose herself she was bombarded with questions from her two friends.

"Where'd you go 'Mione?" Ron asked suspiciously, giving her a worried frown when he saw her dishevelled appearance..

"H-huh what Ron? I went to, uh to find a book." lied Hermione, hoping to the gods that Harry and Ron would not notice that she was blushing profusely, or that her eyes were trying avoid their accusing stares.

Or that she was lying through her teeth.

She really did not want another round of teasing from the two boys about her infatuation with the professor. Nor did she really want to share with them what she learned about him just moments ago, not yet anyways. She needed to find out more about the professor before she could jump to conclusions. Besides, there was no need to worry Harry about the Philosopher's Stone since it was still a touchy subject for him and he was already busy puzzling over Malfoy's strange behaviour.

"You were gone for quite some time Hermione. Must've been hard to find that book." Harry said coolly, his gaze flitting curiously towards the worn book clutched in her hands.

Hermione felt puzzled for a moment before she realized that she was still holding the book she had picked up earlier. In all the excitement she had forgotten that she had it.

"Yes yes, I've been wanting to read this one for a while. It's quite interesting. Very interesting indeed." Giving her two friends an innocent smile and making a show of staring interestedly at the book for good measure, Hermione pretended to busy herself with putting away her things.

"We didn't know that you found Kama Sutra so interesting"

* * *

**Orla Quirke** is I think a Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw girl that is 3 years younger than Harry and the gang. I just needed some random younger girl, that's all. 

"Goldstein" refers to **Anthony Goldstein**, a Ravenclaw Prefect.

**Charlotte "Prima Donna" Winterton**. Some character that I made up. Inspiration came from the character Carlotta in Phantom of the Opera and Motoko Minagawa (she's the president of the Prince Yuki fan club) from Fruits Basket. I wanted someone who was painfully obnoxious and full of herself like Carlotta, but someone who was obsessive to the point of craziness like Motoko. The names Charlotte and Prima Donna I got from Phantom of the Opera (An English-y version of the name Carlotta and the same nickname she had) and the last name I googled it (dunno that many British last names. This one has ties to English politics so it served it's purpose)

**Professor Elric Forever Club** (P.E.F club for short). I don't know what came over me, must have been watching the first episode of Fruits Basket again and seeing the crazy fangirlness or something but I just made this up….stupid name, no? Well, you'll be seeing more of them unfortunately.

**A.N:** Well, here's the second chapter! I seriously did not think that I would have the motivation to write a second chapter at all. A lot of things have been happening to me lately so I haven't had time to write anything. ANYWAYS, besides that I'm not too sure where I'm gonna take this story. I have a few ideas of what to do but nothing is definite, I'm just hoping that it'll write itself. I'm glad that I rated the story as I did though, because I have a potty mouth and would like to write something that's more mature (hopefully). I might have to change the genre too, possibly add angst/drama (I can try) or horror……well, I'll think about it in the meantime.

ooh yess,

Disclaimer: Full Metal Alchemist is owned by Hiromu Arakawa and a whole bunch of other companies and Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling...too bad.

Thanks to cuylerjade and Quandtuniverse for telling me who owns FMA and cuylerjade again for helping me out on the last part

**Until next time!**


	3. Interlude: Genius

**Title: **Misinterpretations  
**Author: **Jade S. Lee 

**Interlude: Genius**

He had been called many things in his life: little boy, Full Metal, the people's saviour among other things. But the one recurring label that followed him even to a different world was genius.

Edward knew that he was a prodigy, had known it ever since he discovered that he completely understood alchemic equations that baffled adults as a young boy and was better than even Alphonse at studying the science. But he truly realized his genius when he had attempted human transmutation with his brother one stormy night, and had almost succeeded. It was a strange moment for him, he remembered - feeling the cold grip of terror washing through him but at the same time a disgusting sense of pride at his accomplishment. From that day on he grudgingly accepted the smiling praises of brilliance with a detached smile and a nod. He did not want to be known for his genius just because he could memorize volumes of information, he wanted to be recognized for applying his genius to help others.

_That was probably why I was an annoying, gloating git when I was younger_ Edward thought distastefully, knowing that in those times he was still too young and too naive to understand that a few good deeds were not enough to change the world. He knew better now, living in this alternate universe alone had opened his eyes to what the world was really like and how it took more than one brilliant child to bring about a revolution.

Resting his head on his arms wearily, Edward watched his miniature Firebolt model whizzing around his office. He did not really know why he had bought the thing; it had been completely spur of the moment. But when he had seen the model flying around the store he couldn't help but smile. It was the first time he had found anything humorous in this world. He even remembered laughing at it at some point, at which the store clerk had given him an odd look and told him the selling price of the model.

Now, nearly four months after he had stumbled upon this world of witches and wizards Edward found the novelty of the model had worn off. The cliché of witches riding broomsticks as a means of transportation didn't amuse him as much anymore so the model was quickly becoming a nuisance.

_I'm getting too used to this world_, Edward thought ruefully. With a heaving sigh he decided that he had better things to do than to watch a toy model fly around his office so he set to work marking some papers.

No sooner had he finished marking the first paper when he heard a knock on the door. Before he even had a chance to call in the person the heavy oak door opened and a tall man swept in.

"Make yourself at home, Professor" Edward grumbled sarcastically, not pleased at the interruption.

"Good evening Edward, may I have a word with you?" The man said, moving a pile of paperwork from the worn sofa to the floor and sat down.

"You could have said that at the door. Surely wizards are taught simple manners?" Edward turned to face the man, leaning precariously on his chair and feigning nonchalance.

"Did you not hear me knock on your door?" An innocent smile graced the man's aged face, and his eyes twinkling mischievously.

_Fuck you_. Edward wanted to say, but instead forced a pleasant smile on his face.

"To what do I owe this pleasure Professor Dumbledore?"

"Albus" Dumbledore corrected brightly. "Well you see Edward..."

He hated it when the old man called him by his first name. Although it was to be expected - he addressed the other instructors informally as well, Edward did not like _how_ the professor said his name - especially when they were alone. With an unnatural lilt to his voice, the kind that of tone that little children would use when they were baiting someone. The twinkle in his eyes and the little half-wink were also thrown in at odd times to annoy Edward further. It made Edward want to shove the model Firebolt down the bastard's throat.

But he knew that he couldn't do that. The school would be hopeless without their headmaster and Edward was supposed to keep a low profile in this world. Landing himself in jail for attempted murder would not bring him any closer to finding a way home.

"...so I trust that you'll do this task for me then, Edward? Edward?"

Realizing that the professor was still speaking to him, Edward refocused his attention on the old man.

"Roger that." Giving the professor a smirk and a lazy salute, Edward stood up from his chair and moved towards one of the numerous bookshelves that lined his tiny office. Pretending to scan the titles on the nearest shelf, Edward willed the man to leave. _I'm tired of dealing with you._

"Excellent! When you have the time please notify Severus that you will be available to substitute for his classes and inform Minerva of your agreement to participate in the festivities."

_...WHAT?_

"I have to what?" Turning around sharply, Edward glared at the man incredulously, fury lining his face.

"I believe you just agreed to this, Edward, I trust you will be able to follow through?" Another casual, far too friendly smile appeared on his face. Edward's hands shook with fury.

"Fuck you" This time he really said it, growling the curse softly and narrowing his eyes.

The bastard was trapping him again. He knew that Edward did not want to mingle with the public more than necessary. Yet he purposefully asked Edward to do these tasks, waited until Edward was distracted to tell him, and somehow got him to agree to it. It pissed him off.

Seemingly unfazed, Dumbledore strolled away from the quietly seething young man and reminded him to speak with Professor Snape first thing in the morning.

After slamming the door shut in frustration after Dumbledore had left and pushing all the clutter towards the edge of the desk, Edward sank in his chair and rested his forehead on the table. The cool wood soothed some of his anger and he felt himself sigh heavily.

He felt tired, and old, dealing with Dumbledore. The man, probably thrice his age or more, was more difficult to handle than the colonel bastard back in Amestris. At least the colonel was frank; he didn't sugar-coat his words and it was relatively easy to tell what kind of mood he was in. Dumbledore, on the other hand, was harder to read and hid behind his cheerful facade. And the damned twinkling pissed Edward off as well.

He did not know why he felt so drained when dealing with the old professor. He had dealt with people like him before - manipulative, crafty bastards who used their charms and trustworthy appearance to their advantage. But he had never felt distracted or tired during a conversation with a person he deemed dangerous before. It was just his luck that the professor would always visit him when he was having a bad day. Or when he had consumed too much firewhiskey.

Squeezing his eyes shut for a moment, then wearily opening the bottom drawer of his desk, Edward gingerly pulled out a half empty bottle of firewhiskey.

_Living in this school has turned me into an alcoholic._ Taking a long swig from the bottle, Edward looked blearily around his room, wishing that he had not ordered the house-elves to stop cleaning his room. Feeling the drink burn down his throat followed by the slight heady sensation of the alcohol taking effect, Edward felt himself completely relax.

_Might as well finish what I started,_ he thought ruefully, once again picking up his quill to continue grading assignments. But before he could even grab an assignment to grade, a small piece of fiery red parchment caught his eye. It was placed on top of the assignments, arranged like a birthday or greeting card would be. _Yeah right, like anyone would send me a greeting card. _Snatching the parchment from the top of the pile Edward opened it to find Dumbledore's neat, slightly slanted cursive.

_Edward,_

_There are certain books up in my study that you might find interesting. Feel free to peruse my collection at your leisure. Help yourself to some Ice Mice as well, consider it equivalent exchange._

_And please refrain from smuggling firewhiskey into the building, the house-elves will be able to supply you with all the alcoholic beverages you need._

_Albus_

He hated to admit it, but the old bastard was a genius.

* * *

**A.N**: Another chapter….erm…sub chapter done. The numbering of the chapters are going to get weirder from now on because I'm going to add in "interludes" every so often (probably after every two chapters) that are not in Hermione's POV. This is because I want the main story to be told from Hermione's POV but also wanted to explore other characters so that the plot would make more sense. The "interludes" are just going to be little sidestories or clarification of certain facts told from a different person's point of view (who I'm going to choose next, I dunno. I'm seriously making this stuff up as I go along) This one, as you can see, is from Edward's POV. I hope I didn't make him too OOC but I wanted to stress the fact that he is older and wiser now so he might seem more introverted and bitter than in the anime. But I also wanted him to keep the same sort of personality: having a quick temper, mistrustful, wanting to do things his own way, foul mouth, intelligent beyond intelligent etc. As for Dumbledore, I didn't _intend_ to make him seem like a bastard but this is how Edward views him. Arrggg, I don't wanna explain. There's a reason why Ed hates him so much. Well, hope everyone liked it. 

**Until next time!**

**p.s. I tend to think of better ideas when I get feedback. I also think that two heads (or more) are better than one. So I hope that I get constructive criticism in the future and maybe even some ideas so that I don't run out of ideas…..yes I'm already running out (Don't worry, as of now I can last another four of so chapters, it'll come to me eventually. Don't you hate it when you already have the end all planned out but don't know what to do for the middle?)**


	4. Celebrity

**Title: **Misinterpretations  
**Author: **Jade S. Lee

**Chapter 03: Celebrity**

Hermione had to hand it to those P.E.F girls, their ability to find out any new information about Professor Elric was astounding.

Not only did they find out where Professor Elric's office was (On the third floor two doors down from the singing suit of armour), but they knew ahead of time that Professor Elric was going to be the substitute teacher for Defence Against The Dark Arts. Apparently Professor Snape had fallen ill so his post would be covered by Professor Elric for the time being.

For the next few days she had to put up with the swoons and giggles of the girls who had the Professor as a substitute, which was practically everyone in the school. Since he only taught the seventh years, not many students had been able to interact with him, to the disappointment of his fan club (and the rest of the girls too, I suppose).

"Sheesh! Girls!" Ron spat, angrily pushing a third year girl who was talking animatedly about her first Defence Against The Dark Arts lesson with Professor Elric aside.

"Ron! That was rude! You shouldn't abuse your authority like that" said Hermione furiously, glaring at his back as she half ran to catch up with his angry strides.

"Why do they always have to act all funny whenever they see a _cute_ guy?" The bitterness and anger, coupled with the horrible face he made on the word 'cute', coloured Ron's words as he stomped his way towards the common room. He occasionally pushed a love-stricken girl out of his way and growled at them when they gave him dirty looks.

Hermione could only glare at him furiously while she tried to calm herself down. She couldn't very well blow up at him, lest they get into another long and winded fight, but she couldn't let him get away with abusing the younger students.

_Why did Ron always have to be such a jerk? _she thought exasperatedly. She could understand his frustration, since it had been days since they had any quiet time to themselves (what with all the girls gossiping everywhere); but he did not have to be so violent and ill-tempered! She was having a worse time than him after all, she had to put up with the giggles, the love confessions (to the professor, of course) and the jealousy (she was being targeted because some girls thought that she was a threat to them. Must have been her smarts) almost all the time since she shared the dormitories and bathrooms with the other girls. And the _swooning!_ Merlin, she could not stand the fact that perfectly intelligent and logical girls were fainting at the sight of a pretty face, even if she did like Professor Elric. Their behaviour disgusted her but at least she did not take out her frustration on everyone, she had more restraint than that.

"Will you STOP that giggling for one second? I can't think with all this noise!"

"Finally cracked, huh Hermione?" Harry said with a wry smile as he trotted alongside Hermione, having muscled his way through the crowd to Hermione.

"And where have YOU been Harry?" Hermione seethed, feeling her anger rise at his comment.

"Meeting with McGonagall" was his curt answer. "What is Ron doing?"

"Doing an excellent impression of King Kong on a rampage!"

Harry laughed heartily at this comment, saying something about how she was incredibly funny when she was angry through his chuckles. He then politely pushed through the throng of girls and stopped when he reached a much calmer Ron pacing in front of the portrait door while waiting for them.

Giving the password to the Fat Lady and stepping into the brightly lit Common Room, the three immediately went to the unoccupied table at the back of the room, Hermione and Ron bickering all the way there.

"...what's so great about Professor Elric anyways!" Ron spat disdainfully, giving Hermione a look that clearly said _I know you worship him like everyone else so don't start._

"He seems to have a really big fan club. Almost all the girls are in love with him." said Harry dismissively, thumbing through his Potions textbook.

"But he's _short!" _Ron whined, earning himself a glare from two Gryffindor second year girls who had overheard him.

"Oh come off it Ron! You can't judge a person by his height!" Hermione said, giving Ron another pointed glare. Trying her best to ignore his rantings about the professor, she opened her book bag to look for her Ancient Runes textbook. She found that by tuning out Ron during his lengthy rants she could keep a relatively cool head and avoid shouting at him (most of the time), plus she would have a head start on her homework.

"...He doesn't seem to be liking the attention though, he keeps running away from those girls. Wonder if he's as good of a teacher as they say he is."

_Thank you Harry_! Hermione thought, for once enjoying the fact that at least one of her friends was being level headed about the whole thing. Usually Harry was the first to jump to conclusions about mysterious new teachers but he seemed completely fine with Professor Elric.

"He's probably an excellent teacher, he seems to be knowledgeable in almost every aspect of magic." Hermione said matter-of-factly, feeling happier now that the conversation was taking on a lighter tone.

"Yah...guess so, whoever spends that much time in the library has _got_ to know something." said Ron begrudgingly.

Hermione liked Ron better this way, humble and calm. Although they rarely saw eye to eye, she appreciated how Ron always let things go after a while and was willing to admit his mistakes.

They talked a little more about Professor Elric's rumoured teaching skills before eventually lapsing into silence, each trying to finish their homework. Hermione could honestly say that she liked studying with them. Although Harry and Ron complained too much and always tried to pry answers out of her, she enjoyed their presence while she studied and felt comfortable around them. The comfy, squashy chairs and the blazing fire in the Gryffindor Common Room made her feel safe and at home. In the busy first weeks of school she did not have time to appreciate how much she missed Hogwarts, it was good to be back.

"Hey, is that git Snape really sick?" Ron murmured, his quill coming to scratching halt as he looked at his friends with a questioning gaze.

By then the Common Room had emptied out, leaving only the trio and one first year student who was already climbing up the stairs towards the dormitories.

After he disappeared through the door Hermione replied, "I don't think so. He's probably doing something for the Order."

"At least I don't have to put up with him during class now." said Harry bitterly, still angry that his least favourite professor was now teaching his favourite class.

"No more Snape! What could be better than that?" Ron said excitedly. "Hope that he's gone for the whole year!"

"You know that's not possible Ron, but I am looking forward to having class with Professor Elric." Hermione couldn't help but gush, ignoring the deadpan look from Harry and the strangled sound that Ron made at the mention of the Alchemy professor.

Deciding that it was getting late, the trio bade each other a good night and prepared for bed.

After re-checking her schedule for the next day, Hermione slipped under the covers of her four poster bed and thought about what the next day had in store for her. What was the reason for Professor Snape's absence? Would Professor Elric be a good teacher? Would she be able to learn more about him now that she had class with him?

She would have to wait and see.

* * *

**A.N: **Geezz….long time no update. Been really busy this week and haven't been in a 'writing' mood. This chapter was boring…nothing really happened (cuz I'm trying to re-read the Half Blood Prince for accuracy) but I suppose it's an okay filler/transition. I'm actually sort of proud at my writing style this time around….I just looked back on the last three chapters and noticed that I sort of suck at certain things (like trying to write in character…and my lack of description). But oh well, I'll try to write better (and edit edit edit!) and hopefully this story will move along the way I want it too. 

**Until next time!**


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